Why My Daughter’s Right to Life Trumps My Right to Choose

And they knew it would be, when they wrote that episode: the one where a child’s life is taken to boost viewer ratings or cause a ruckus across the internet for a few days. They knew that’s how it would go when they wrote an abortion scene. #Istandwithplannedparenthood, right? It’s just a show, right?

But it’s not.

The episode on Scandal, the one where Olivia gets an abortion on screen to the tune of Silent Night, caused an understandable stir the week it was released. A week later, we found something else to become irate about. Have we forgotten? Have we forgotten that the people behind scenes like this – scenes depicting abortion as if it’s a life-saving heart surgery – that they claim to have a monopoly on women’s rights?

These people want little girls to grow up independent and unafraid to be themselves.

Let me ask you: how could my daughter have the chance to be herself if I had denied her the right to exist?

I am angry. But I’m not angry with the frightened, unwed mother sitting in the waiting room. I am angry with the producers at ABC, the screenwriters, the actresses and actors and viewers who stand in silent affirmation to this atrocity. I am angry with the lies of this gender-feminist movement.

I am angry that they tell me I should have the right to steal my daughter’s rights: her right to choose, her right to breathe, her right to live.

To those in the media, to those in places of power, to those who call themselves feminists but deny the rights of women yet unborn I say: You are liars. Cruel, selfish, liars.

You would take away the rights of my daughter, all in the name of giving freedom to me.

I watched that scene in Scandal. I watched it with tears pouring down my face because I have laid on a table and heard the rhythmic beat of a heart on a screen. That heart is still beating in the bassinet in my living room, and you – you would stand and applaud me if I had stopped it, whether for convenience or freedom or to “stand with Planned Parenthood”.

If I listened to you like so many young women, I would never have seen her smile for the first time. I would never have heard her laugh in her sleep. I would never watch her grow and experience the world for the first time; I would never see her develop independence and courage. She would never get the chance to become a strong woman, a woman with choice and freedom.

All because of people like you: people who make death acceptable on mainstream television.

It is a scandal. You are scandalous in your blatant endorsement of evil, and yet people watch what you produce as entertainment.

This has happened before. History repeats itself. Our nation is Rome all over again: seated complacently in a coliseum of death, giving a “thumbs up” to the murder of thousands while they eat, drink, and be merry.

Rome’s reign came to an end not just because of an outward conqueror but an inner rot: a rot that began in the hearts of its people as they rejected all that was right and true. The funny thing is, right up to the end, they thought they were the most enlightened people on earth.

Sounds familiar.

Women like Gloria Steinem and Lena Dunham and Sue Monk Kidd tell me I’ve missed the intellectual boat with my “patriarchal” mindset. I suppose I’ve limited myself by giving up my dream job to stay home with my daughter. I suppose you’re right, Gloria, things might be a lot easier if I’d sacrificed her life on the altar of my own. It’s something you celebrated in your interview on Harper’s Bazaar:

DUNHAM: The dedication in your book, to the doctor who gave you an abortion, gave me full-body chills. How long had you been thinking about the concept of revealing his identity?

STEINEM: I often thought about him, but because he asked me not to reveal his name, it always stuck with me as a prohibition. And then it dawned on me that he is long dead, and this is a different day, and it’s time to thank him.

DUNHAM: And he’s a hero now, not a criminal.

STEINEM: He’s a hero.

I wonder if your baby was a girl, Gloria? Did that ever cross your mind? That in your quest to protect women’s rights and further the cause of feminism, you killed the very person who could have been your foremost disciple?

You’d say I don’t believe in a woman’s right to choose.

I guess you’re right: I don’t believe in my right to make another person’s choice for them. In this case, that person is my daughter.

I chose not to kill her so she could have the right to live.

I chose to spend nine months carrying her, painfully delivering her, forfeiting sleep for her, stretching my body out for her – all so she could have a chance to make choices. All so she could have a chance at life.

Gloria, Lena, Sue, ABC: you’re liars. You speak of freedom yet you deprive our unborn daughters of their most fundamental right. You speak of choice but these unborn girls never even have a chance to choose. You speak of safety and health and yet our little girls aren’t even safe in the womb from people like you.

Your “enlightenment” is darkened. You are blind guides to the next generation of women, and I’ll be sure my daughter knows it. I’ll be sure to tell her that if I’d listened to you, she wouldn’t exist.

I’ll be sure to tell her that your feminism is a cheap imitation of the real thing: being a woman who has value and gives value to every person in society, from fellow women, to men, to the unborn. True feminism is humanitarianism. True feminism is equitable. True feminism attributes value to life, even life in the womb.

The jig is up. Your lies are exposed.

I guess I can thank you for one thing: making it easy for me to teach my daughter the power of choice. She will always know its power, because my choice to reject your agenda gave her the chance to live. A chance to choose.

Reader Interactions

Comments

So well put! Just one thing to add: It is said that it is the woman’s body and her choice. Well then, it is time to make the choice before you are pregnant. Yet, they don’t want to be bothered to make that choice!

Camille, yes, I do believe abortion is always wrong because it involves two lives. It would be wrong to take the life of the mother – correct? She shouldn’t die for being pregnant. So should the child die because of its mother’s situation? Should life be taken in any circumstance? A child should never pay in blood for the sins of its parents, regardless of the circumstance. It is not the right of a parent to take the life of a child, in the womb or out of it. So yes, I would support alternatives such as adoption in situations where a mother could not support the child. My own mother was adopted as an infant.

If I were in a position to campaign to support the rights of the unborn, I absolutely would. But I would also campaign for counseling and support for unwed mothers and victims of rape who need hope in such a frightening situation. They need compassion and understanding just as much as their child needs life.

I had an unplanned pregnancy at 20 years old. My daughter is now two. I think Alice Paul said it best when she said, “abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women”. I really don’t think any women wants to get an abortion. They do it because they think they have to

Ellisse, I agree! I think many women simply don’t know the alternatives, or are so frightened they don’t know where to turn. That’s why I could never be angry with a woman in that kind of situation – I am angry with those who do not show her all the options, or walk her through the process of giving life to her child, even if she chooses to put it up for adoption. Thank you for sharing your story!

This issue has been heavy on my heart for awhile now. I cannot stand with Planned Parenthood.
My problems with the abortion issue have nothing to do with woman’s rights or the issue of woman’s choice. I believe in strong independent woman who make wise choices based on intelligence and experience. I believe that woman should be able to choose what happens to their own bodies, especially when it comes to sexual acts and interaction with other people. However, my issue with abortion is that it should not be one of those choices. Abortion as a woman’s choice does not acknowledge any other human life. I am a product of a me culture, a generation brought up to believe that I am the most important person, that I should always consider myself over another, that I am the only one that truly matters. I disagree with abortion not because I don’t believe woman should have a choice, but because I believe that the selfish choice is morally wrong. I do not claim to have all the answers, and I refrain from judging. If a woman feels the need to abort her child for reasons beyond her control, I will never condemn her. However, if a woman is nearly half term with a precious baby that can survive outside the womb, I believe that the trauma of an abortion is equivalent to the trauma of the birth and completely unnecessary when compared to the option of life. Why should I even be a choice to choose to abort a child that could live, particularly when there so many options out there for adoption. I completely understand in inability to care for a child, or a lack of desire to care for a child, however choosing to kill rather than to give the gift of life seems to me a cruel and harsh choice.

Amen Phylicia! I thank The Lord that He has given you the courage and boldness to stand up for life, for His truth. I will be praying that you continue to stand firm. Don’t ever compromise your faith. Thank you for writing this.
I faced the potential of being a single mother at 17. The baby would have been one of my rapist’s baby. I was terrified at the prospect of having to raise a child when I was young and alone. I had friends who said to me that they wouldn’t blame me if I wanted an abortion and they would understand. But I never considered an abortion for a single second. Because life is a valuable gift from God. I could say many things about this subject but I feel like you did a marvelous enough job of it already. From one sister-in-Christ to another, thank you.

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Overcomers gather here. I'm Phylicia, and I believe in abundant life, practically. In singleness or marriage, work or home, we don't have to live in defeat! Join me to learn how to apply God's Word and preach the gospel with your life. View Full Profile

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